Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
But in that moment, they were just three infuriating words.
“Freaking Camden Cole,” she muttered, taking the money from the man. “Thanks.”
Freaking Camden Cole? What had I done? I’d given her that money. Which she obviously needed. And now I was Freaking Camden Cole? How was that fair?
“You want those chips now?” the clerk asked, but Nora just shook her head and shoved the money into her pocket so roughly that I’d have sworn she was mad at it.
Suddenly, I was furious at it too. I was dealing with enough crap that summer from my family without some girl who didn’t know me at all dishing it out too.
Even under her breath.
In the middle of a grocery store filled with more strangers.
In a town where nobody knew me.
All of which were minor formalities to my mounting anger.
As she left the store, I abandoned my candy bar and followed her. She could yell at me all she wanted, but I’d done nothing wrong. If she wanted to be pissed off about the money, I’d gladly take it off her hands. No sweat off my back.
Nora was a girl on a mission though and moved fast as she stomped away carrying a bag in each hand. She beat me to the parking lot, and I tried to play it cool as I passed a few locals on their way inside, smiling and waving so as not to look like a creepy stalker as I chased after her.
Less than a second later, when she hit the sidewalk and started ranting to herself, a creepy stalker was exactly what I became.
“Freaking Camden Cole, with his pretty blue eyes. I mean who actually has eyes that blue? What are they, night vision goggles or something?”
My brows shot up and my jaw hung open so wide I could have caught flies. She thought my eyes were pretty. My mom had always told me that, but she was required by DNA to think it.
Nora Stewart was not.
And just like that, Freaking Camden Cole didn’t sting as bad.
I dropped back a bit so she didn’t hear my footsteps, but she kept right on ranting loud and clear. In a ridiculous tone that sounded nothing like my voice, she mocked, “Hey, I’m Camden Cole. Have some worms. I have a bazillion.” She groaned and flapped her swinging arms. “I don’t want your worms! I want my own damn worms. And maybe more than four dollars’ worth.” She let out a frustrated growl but just kept marching. “I bet Camden had chips with his dinner. He probably even got dessert. Eating chocolate cake in his stupid shoes and fancy shirt.”
My whole body jerked, and I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as if I’d hit an invisible brick wall.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
She thought I was rich. That was the kiss of death.
She didn’t know I’d had to buy those shoes myself. And yes, I knew exactly how ugly they were, and given the opportunity, I would have thrown them in a bonfire. But my dad didn’t bitch at me when I wore them to church and that alone made them worth their weight in gold.
My breath caught when suddenly she cut into the woods. On the sidewalk, I could have pretended to be out for a nightly stroll. She didn’t own the whole town. But if I got caught following her into those woods, it would have been far past the realm of coincidence.
I clenched my teeth as I watched her disappear on that dark, moonlit trail. I should have gone home. I should have left her alone, given up on the worm thing, and spent the rest of my summer trying to become the man my parents and grandparents were so desperate for me to be.
But even knowing all that, my feet didn’t budge.
My heart thundered in my ears, and I stood at a crossroads. She was a complete stranger, yet my draw to her was like the moon pulling in the tides.
Years later, I’d still debate why I’d followed her that night. I wasn’t mad anymore and she’d gotten far enough ahead that I couldn’t hear her ramblings—good or bad. But for reasons I’d never be able to explain, my feet slid into her footprints on the dirt path.
She was a good bit ahead of me, but I did my best to keep quiet just in case. The woods weren’t as thick as I'd assumed, and before long, porch lights from houses on the other side of the wood line illuminated our way. I wasn’t tall by any means, but my legs were longer than hers, so I gained ground quickly. More than once, I slipped behind a tree for fear she’d heard me.
Through it all, she just kept walking, her eyes forward and her brown hair swaying across her back.